Abstract On Pi Day, 2013, we'll celebrate this famous constant with a lecture that
is part expository, part mathematical.
First, we sketch the story of the digit-hunters who sought ever more accurate
values of Pi. Theirs has been a quest stretching from Archimedes in classical
times down to the present day.
Then, we consider the so-called 'Basel Problem' in which the number pi plays
a critical role. The problem, posed by Jakob Bernoulli in 1689, was to find
the exact value of the infinite series 1 + 1/4 + 1/9 + 1/16 + ... Euler
solved this in multiple ways over his career, but here we examine the little-known
1755 argument in which he evaluated the series by invoking l'Hospital's rule
not once, not twice, but thrice!
So, this will be an afternoon starring both Euler and pi, an unbeatable combination.